New England football fans may not have recognized it, so we’ll take this slow.

That was a running attack.

“A lot of us came in early in the week and saw the plan and really liked what we were doing,” center Dan Koppen said after the Patriots eclipsed their season total in rushing yardage by running for 168 yards in a 26-10 romp over the Atlanta Falcons at Gillette Stadium. “(We were) able to balance it up.

“That creates a lot more if you’re able to stick runs in there and be effective with those runs. It creates some play-action (passes) and the dropbacks, it opens up a lot of things.”

You want balance?

How’s this: On the same day that wide receiver Randy Moss enjoyed the 61st 100-yard receiving game of his NFL career (with 10 receptions for 116 yards) and quarterback Tom Brady became the 27th player in league history to throw 200 touchdown passes, running back Fred Taylor enjoyed the 49th 100-yard rushing game of his career (with 21 carries for 105 yards and one TD).

“Obviously, the running game was a plus for us,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said, “and that helped the passing game.”

For two games, the attack had hinged on Brady’s right arm, too often putting him on his back.

The pass-run imbalance (100 passes; 43 rushing attempts) was clearly a burden on the franchise quarterback, who, while sacked onlyonce, was often under siege, particularly the previous week in the face of an assortment of blitzes from Rex Ryan’s New York Jets.

On this Sunday, the Patriots’ ability to run the ball not only helped the Patriots put a season-high 26 points on the board and their second victory in the books, at the same time it helped keep Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan off the field as well.

“The main objective is to score points whether it’s run or pass,” Taylor said. “You want to be balanced going into each game, but sometimes certain situations don’t allow for that. I think Tom might feel a little better we were able to run the ball, but the bottom line is putting points on the board and try to win the game, whether it’s 1,000 passes or 1,000 rushes. We just want to win the game.”

Now, here’s a good sign.

When this one was over, guard Logan Mankins’ back ached and his legs were fatigued. Which certainly beats talk about Brady’s right shoulder and his left knee.

“Hell, yeah, my legs are tired, my back hurts,” Mankins answered when asked if he felt any lingering effects from the near-40 minutes (39:49) the Patriots’ offense spent on the field. “It was one of those games where we controlled the ball so we stayed out on the field quite a bit. (But) I’d much rather have that than being out there for 40 plays and getting our butts kicked.”

Page 2 of 2 - No, the butt-kicking on this day was done by the Patriots’ offensive line as the team effectively balanced the run (39 carries) with the pass (a season-low 42 attempts).

“It was a more balanced day for us,” said Brady. “We ran it great and had some good play actions. It was wet out there. We didn’t have any turnovers, which was key. … It was a good day.”

A week after they came out flinging in the Meadowlands, there was no need for Brady to be slinging in the rain.

“We came out (and) we ran the ball very well,” said tight end Chris Baker, who hauled in a 36-yard, fourth-quarter pass from Brady. “We got all the tight ends in there (Baker, Benjamin Watson and Michael Matthews), and we were a part of it. That was good for us as a group and overall for the whole offense to be able to establish the run a little bit.”

Playing with the luxury of the lead for a good portion of the game also helped the Patriots dictate the more conservative tempo.

“We were able to play from ahead and kind of manage our offense a little better,” running back Sammy Morris said, “and kind of come at them some different ways.”

Clinging to a six-point lead (16-10) in the third quarter, the Patriots went at Atlanta in a way no one could have expected, opting to go for a fourth-and-one from their own 24, converting when Morris drove up the middle for a couple of yards.

“The short yardage in our own end, I felt like we could get a yard,” Belichick said. “There would have been plenty of criticism if we didn’t but then we were able to get that and basically hold onto the ball. If I’m not mistaken, we were able to hang onto the ball for pretty much the rest of the third quarter.”

Taking 6:59 off the clock and covering 70 yards, the Patriots made it a two-possession game when Stephen Gostkowski converted his fourth field goal of the game, his second from 33 yards.

Continuing to mix pass and run, the Patriots controlled the clock in the fourth quarter (10:46 in time of possession), literally running the clock out (the final 6:52) with six runs and three passes before Brady knelt down twice to bring the game to an end.

“It was a fun game today,” Koppen said when it was over. “There’s no doubt about that.